Sarah McLachlan

February 17, 2026·1 hr 3 min·4 clips

Sarah McLachlan says Angel came through her in two days, calling herself 'just a vessel,' and the SPCA ad using it raised $30 million in its first year.

Amy opens with pure affection. She calls Sarah McLachlan the one and only, then happily stacks up the reasons: the hits, Lilith Fair, the music school, the talent, the kindness, the humor. She is charmed, and she lets it show. The conversation has the feel of a roomy catch-up about Canada, cold lakes, new music, daughters, and being a woman in the world today. Then Lilith Fair takes over. Sarah talks about touring mostly with men, including people she loved and trusted, and how different it felt when Paula was nearby. That relief becomes the way into the larger story: women needed each other inside a music industry that often left them isolated. Amy keeps the tone warm. She asks how Sarah explains Lilith Fair to people who missed it, and Sarah keeps it plain: music being made by women in the late nineties. Simple, but it lands. The sharper moment comes when Sarah remembers being told the idea would fail because too many women could not share a stage or a radio sequence. Amy gives that room. Sarah ties those rules to a competitive frame she never bought, especially because men were not boxed in the same way. The friendship thread stays close. Sarah tells Amy that seeing Paula at TIFF brought both of them to tears, which keeps the history alive instead of sealed off. Even the ending stays in music-family mode, with Amy sending love to Pat and honoring the songs people grew up with. The mood is bright, but the point underneath is sturdy: Sarah felt the loneliness of the structure, invited another woman closer, and helped turn that closeness into something public. Music will save us, Amy says.

As heard by us

A cozy Sarah McLachlan hang that turns Lilith Fair into a story about solidarity.

This Good Hang episode pairs Amy Poehler with Sarah McLachlan in a conversation that stays warm without drifting into fluff. They talk about growing up in Canada, starting Lilith Fair, making new music, making music with her daughters, and what it means to move through the world…

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Why you'd press play

You want a cozy Sarah McLachlan hang that goes past the obvious hits and into the why.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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